Design Like You Give a Damn (2): Building from the Ground Up

This photography-dense 335 page follow-up to the earlier book of the same name is a punchy and unforgettable read. Edited by Architecture for Humanity, the book speaks to architects, designers and artists like myself who want to build projects, desings and installations sustainably, placing community at the fore. There are literally hundreds of inspiring case examples inside this book, all of them full of life and optimism.

The book is divided into sections, the first introductory section in light green addressing "lessons learned." All of the "lesson learned" examples represent projects that have been done in communities, in particular disaster recovery sites, which involve a team, an implementing agency and sponsors, a number of cases this being Architecture for Humanity, but many are the sustainablity projects of architectural firms and architectural schools as well. These teams represent variations of project management coordinators, design fellows, the actual designers, consultants, volunteers, a loan fund and numerous beneficiaries all working behind the scenes to bring a project to life.

Each section looks at various sustainability architecture gems, and examine many astounding case studies. The book is loaded with beautiful photographs that shine with excitement and hope.

Housing is the third section, underscored by the book's designers with forest green accents throughout. it is another exciting array of architectural design projects built to bring out the best in people and alleviate poverty in a sustainable way. The detail and effort that goes into each of these projects is evident, as these architects are trying to bring communities together and create positive living experiences and are somewhat competitive in meeting the challenge. Obviously the themes overlap.

The next and largest section is themed Community, but the efforts of the different architectural design teams in the Housing section now put Community under a high focus lens. There are also some very famous examples in the Community section, in particular the success story of the Highline in New York, The bridge school in China, and the Gimnasio Vertical in Venezuela with 15,000 users monthly. There are, however, many more examples in this largest section, all of them fascinating.

The slender section Basic Services and Materials follows, and these are shown in an installation place but have hundreds to thousands of version as they are designed for function, not architecture per say. Among these is the Emergency Water Bladder, a device developed in 1990 and still in use while being finessed, it is a life-saving way of storing potable water, and these bladders are used by Oxfam to serve thousands of people every day. It also has a section on ecological concrete additives, including the smog-eating concrete developed by a producer in Italy and used to design a church. Smog-eating concrete is infused with titanium dioxide and can trap and neutralize air pollution. Many photos showing the different concepts in action make this an interesting section.

The Politics, Policy and Planning section is almost as big as the Communities section and is the second last section in the book. It focuses on issues including paint and graffiti with fascinating statistics and maps, including where food deserts are most prevalent, how much the expense of removing costs taxpayers (Billions!) and how violence can be prevented through design. This section is as inspiring as the rest of the book, and is followed by the final Reference section, which is dense with information and links.

This book is like an entire course in gritty urban design in one book, with gorgeous photos and an energy that is super upbeat. I highly recommend it and I'm glad I read it. It provides excellent perspective and profoud inspiration to artists and designers, and I look forward to Design Like You Give a Damn 3.

Architecture for Humanity. (2012). Design like you give A damn 2 building change from the ground up. Abrams.